


a sailor’s heart is never run aground

by ottermo



Series: As Prompted [47]
Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Gen, Pirate AU, Voyages of the Emerald Eye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:51:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13859085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: Pirate AU. Prequel to “on the sapphire seas”.There was nothing for her here, neither in her father’s fields or the nearby town. Her heart belonged to the sea, and it always would.Mattie makes her choice, once and for all.





	a sailor’s heart is never run aground

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Week 2, Day 6 of the Humans 4-Week Challenge. The prompt was ‘Pirate AU’.

There was a knock at Mattie’s bedroom door, and she gave a heavy sigh. She didn’t want to have this argument again. Her mind was made up and her bags were packed. 

“Don’t come in, Dad, I’m masturbating,” she said, in a flat tone. He’d know she was lying, obviously, but she didn’t have the energy to care about that. She longed to be free of this house, to feel the deck creaking below her feet again, the swaying of her mother’s ship that had always felt so much like home. Being on land was suffocating. She couldn’t stay here. 

It wasn’t her father’s voice that replied, though, and Mattie cringed slightly at the realisation that it was Mia out there, not Joe. “Your mother wants you downstairs, Mattie. Shall I pass on that message?” 

Mattie could hear the note of levity in the synth’s voice, and she scrambled off the bed to open the door. “No, I’m good,” she said, grinning sheepishly. “That was just to throw Dad off. Where is he, anyway?”

Mia considered. “I’d hate to tell you anything that would deter you from carrying out my captain’s orders,” she said, mock-seriously. 

Mattie rolled her eyes. “So he’s with Mum, then.” 

The synth gave her an apologetic smile.

“I’m afraid so.” 

“Ugh,” said Mattie with feeling, and started towards the stairs. She could hardly make her case for boarding the Emerald Eye by expressly disobeying her mother’s wishes, after all. If she did sail, as she was determined to do, Laura would be _her_ captain as well as Mia’s. 

She found not just her parents, but her whole family, waiting for her at the dining table. 

“Mattie,” said her father. “Sit down.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Is this some sort of intervention? I’m eighteen, Dad, and if I want to sail, the only person who can say I’m not allowed is the captain. The rest of you can stay out of it.”

At a warning look from her mother, she sat down more meekly between her brother and sister. Sophie leaned close to her, clinging onto Mattie’s arm. 

“As you said,” her father began calmly, “You’re an adult now, and I can’t stop you boarding the Emerald if that’s what you want to do.” 

Mattie was surprised at that, but kept quiet for a moment, wondering where he was going with this strange line of reasoning, which started off by admitting defeat but so was so clearly meant to persuade her otherwise. 

“But I’m still your father,” Joe continued. “And I still think you should consider this carefully. This isn’t just another jaunt up the coast, like you’ve been doing since you were Sophie’s age. This is a real voyage, and you won’t be back for a year or more. You’ll be abandoning your schooling, for good this time.” He gave a half-smile, as if regretful. “You’ve missed enough of it as it is, but no master will have you back if you’re away so long.”

Mattie nodded. She understood all this. She would be giving up a lot. But there was nothing for her here, neither in her father’s fields or the nearby town. Her heart belonged to the sea, and it always would. 

“And it will be different this time,” her mother said, in the same grave tones Joe had used. “I can’t have you aboard as a guest anymore. If you come on this voyage, you’ll have to work as hard as the rest of the crew.”

Mattie was offended by that. “I’ve always worked on the Emerald. Did you think I thought it was a holiday?” Her eyes flashed with the injustice of it. “I’m not a deadweight! I make myself useful, ask anyone.” 

“I know you’ve helped out,” Laura said, more gently. “But you’ve never been assigned as much work as the others. They’ve always treated you as the captain’s daughter, as well they should, but if you want to join the Emerald full-time, you’ll be the same as anyone else. No going to bed early when you’re tired. No picking and choosing who you work alongside, although I imagine you’ll be able to spend enough time with Max and Leo anyway.“ For a moment a knowing smile played on her lips, but then her stern expression returned. “And _definitely_ no special treatment. The others don’t get to talk back to me. Neither will you.” 

Mattie opened her mouth to protest, but then she remembered all the times she’d quarrelled with her mother on board the Emerald Eye, before rushing below deck to hide in Max’s cabin. Granted, she and Laura argued much less on board the ship than they did on land, but if she was to join the crew properly, her relationship with her mother would have to change a lot. They couldn’t quarrel like mother and daughter anymore; they’d have to swallow down even the tiny bickerings of a healthy rapport. Mattie would have no choice but to make those changes, and fast. 

“I understand,” she said, biting back the annoyance she’d felt initially. “I can live with all that, if it means I can be on the Emerald.” 

Laura looked pleased to see her backing down, but clearly she had more to say.

“It’ll be me having to live with it too, Mats,” she said. “It’ll be me having to live with _myself_ if anything happens to you, because you’ll still be my daughter if I lose you in a raid, and you’ll still be my daughter if you’re swept overboard.”

Laura glanced up at Mia, who was standing by the wall, watching the family’s discussion. “Obviously, I wouldn’t take you if I thought those things were likely. I try and keep all my crew safe.” She met Mattie’s eyes again. “I just want you to understand the dangers. You know what our aim is with this voyage.”

Mattie knew. They were going to chase the Joybringer, a much larger ship who’d fallen to pirates three summers ago. Mia’s brother Fred was still aboard, the only conscious synth in a crew of mind-controlled puppets who raided and killed whoever they came across. While it was true that the Emerald Eye had her own cargo to deliver on the various stops of the voyage, their overall aim was to claim Fred back.

Nobody went against the Joybringer if they could help it, but Captain Laura was determined to look out for the family of her first mate, Mia, just as Mia would do anything to help the Hawkinses. The two women were inseparable, and many assumed they were married, being very surprised to learn that there was a _Mr_ Hawkins who kept himself tied to the shore. Mattie wondered if her father had heard the same rumours, and if part of his reluctance to let Mattie sail was rooted in the desire to control her, the way he couldn’t control Laura while she was at sea. Her mother would never be unfaithful while her father lived, Mattie knew, but perhaps Joe couldn’t imagine anyone keeping to a higher standard of morality than he was capable of himself. If there was uncertainty in their marriage, he’d put it there a long time ago, and through no fault of Laura’s.

Mattie looked away from her father, and locked eyes with her mother again. “You’re going after Fred because he’s Mia’s family,” she said, boldly. “And if that makes him your family too, then you can’t expect me not to feel the same.” 

She sat back in her chair. There was nothing more to say. 

Laura and Joe exchanged a glance. Mattie’s father looked weary, but he managed to smile at her. “I’m proud of you, Mattie,” he said. “You know where you’re headed. I can’t bring myself to like it, but I won’t hold you back.” 

“Thank you,” said Mattie. Truly, she was grateful. But it wasn’t her father’s approval she really needed. _He_ wouldn’t be her captain.

“Well then,” said Laura, her eyes shining. “I suppose I’d better welcome you onto the crew.”

Joy swelled through Mattie, but she kept her expression serious, and raised a hand to her temple in a salute. “Aye aye, Captain,” she said, voice soft with the magnitude of the occasion, even when she wanted it to sound tough and unafraid. 

There’d be plenty of time for that when they faced the Joybringer, she resolved. For now, she had a family to say goodbye to.


End file.
